Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
County Adds 'Medical Investigators' to Hunt Down COVID Cases
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
May 19, 2020

Share

The Fresno County Health Department knew who to call for help tracking down COVID-19 cases — EMTs laid off because of a dip in service calls during the pandemic.

“American Ambulance and the county agreed we would start out with a team of 15 to do medical investigation. This allowed us to bring back 13 of the 15 EMTs we laid off in March.” — Bob Adams, human resources director, American Ambulance

Now, many of these EMTs are joining the county’s 15-person MIT — Medical Investigation Team.

The MITs are trained specifically to talk to, assess, and document information from patients.

“We just did a bridge to bring some of those (EMTs) on to be trained and do this work at our direction,” said David Pomaville, director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health. “They will have phenomenal insight into how the public is addressing this concern.”

EMTs Bring a Needed Skillset to the Job

American Ambulance hired 15 new EMTs in early March. But, after their classroom training, the call volume fell 25% due to COVID-19.

“I had to deliver the news that we were laying them all off,” American Ambulance Director of Human Resources Bob Adams tells GV Wire by email. “Since then, we have had several conversations with various people at the Health Department and it was identified that our EMTs and Paramedics all have … the skill set needed for Medical Investigation.”

Medical investigation is a little different than contact tracing. Contact tracing is the process of finding and reaching out to the contacts of someone who tests positive for an infectious pathogen.

Adams says medical investigators interview people who have tested positive for COVID-19. From there, they work to identify the person’s contacts and provide them with information on how to care for themselves.

Those identified as having contact with a positive COVID-19 case are put in touch with a contact tracer. The contact tracer then provides information on what to watch out for, when to seek additional evaluation or medical treatment, and how to keep safe.

“American Ambulance and the county agreed we would start out with a team of 15 to do medical investigation,” says Adams.  “This allowed us to bring back 13 of the 15 EMTs we laid off in March.”

The medical investigators are training this week at American Ambulance’s training center in Clovis.

Schools Expected to Help With Contact Tracing

Schools will play a significant role in helping with contact tracing.

“It became very evident to us as we go forward and as we start to bring school systems back in place, that they’re going to become the first point of contact for people to report that they’ve had a positive COVID,” said Pomaville.

Pomaville said this group will include school nurses. The county health department is working with schools on a training program.

“We’re putting together a memorandum of understanding so both parties know the rules of who does what,” said Pomaville. “We’ve been talking with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools conceptually with this. We have been in touch with Fresno Unified, Clovis Unified, and Sanger Unified on a daily basis.”

Pomaville also says the county is training on a state database that will be deployed across a variety of digital platforms to allow everyone to work collectively on contact tracing.

The Medical Investigation Questionaire


DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

DON'T MISS

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

DON'T MISS

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

DON'T MISS

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

DON'T MISS

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

DON'T MISS

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

DON'T MISS

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

UP NEXT

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

UP NEXT

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

UP NEXT

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

UP NEXT

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

UP NEXT

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

UP NEXT

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

UP NEXT

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

UP NEXT

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

UP NEXT

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

1 hour ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

2 hours ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

2 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

3 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

3 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

3 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

5 hours ago

Trump Goes Golfing While Stock Market Chunks

5 hours ago

Brandon Vang Wins Fresno City Council Special Election Outright

5 hours ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

Authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating 12-year-old Unique Hernandez, who was last seen on Friday at approximately 5:35 ...

7 minutes ago

Fresno police are searching for Unique Hernandez, 12, last seen on Friday, April 4, 2025, near Inyo Street and Maple Avenue, wearing all black clothing and carrying a black backpack. (Fresno PD)
7 minutes ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

19 minutes ago

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

21 minutes ago

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

1 hour ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

2 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

2 hours ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

3 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend